Unexpected Alliances
by KlausIsMyEverything
Summary: Caroline Forbes and Katherine Pierce had been enemies since the day that they met; however, when inconvenient circumstances force them to work together, they form a bond that neither one saw coming, which leads them to a town to reclaim their one true loves. *Set after 5x04. Klaroline & Kalijah.
1. The Surprise Package

**A/N- SPOILER ALERT(TVD)!**

**DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5!**

**Okay, so according to the spoilers, it seems as if Kat and Care are going to become besties! (I know best news I've heard since the invention of the remote) So how could I not write about this?****  
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**I'm not exactly sure what this is, but it's going to have multiple chapters. This does follow the current TVD S5 story line so if you haven't watched I don't recommend reading, but if you absolutely don't want to watch S5 you don't have to because it pretty much explains itself in here.**

* * *

Katherine violently pounded on Damon's back as she screamed! "Damon! Let me go! I swear to God I will have your head on a platter that I will eat while I get my hair done!" She drove her fists even harder into his back, but he barely even flinched.

Damon continued to walk with Katherine swung over his shoulder, one hand secured around her waist. "Oh, yeah? How are you gonna do that when I can snap your neck like a twig and your only weapon is the razor I packed in your suitcase?" He gestured to the luggage he was rolling down the pavement in his other hand.

"When I get my vampirism back-"

"_When_? Don't you mean _if_?" he reminded her.

"Ugh!" Katherine squirmed even more, but she froze when she heard Damon kick a door open.

"Special delivery for Caroline Forbes!" Damon announced and tossed Katherine's luggage off to the side, then dumped Katherine's reluctant body onto Elena's old bed.

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows as her jaw dropped, looking back and forth between the human doppelganger and her least favorite Salvatore. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I never signed for this." She gestured to a grimacing Katherine.

"Well, just so you know, I never asked for an ex-head cheerleader to be my babysitter and I definitely didn't ask to go to college." Katherine flipped her hair and gave Damon a look of contempt.

"Well," Damon smirked at the brunette. "It's either the ex-head cheerleader or the Stefan-look-a-like who has a place reserved on his wall for your head."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine. I'll stay with Blondie."

"Look at you, Kat, playing well with others," Damon teased and headed for the door.

"Wait a second!" Caroline appeared in the doorway, blocking Damon's exit.

"What do you want?"

"Damon! I never consented to this!" She pointed straight at the pouting human on Elena's bed.

"Who said I needed your permission?" Damon attempted to walk around Caroline, but she stepped in his way every time, crossing her arms.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who says I won't kick her out on her ass and leave her on the streets?"

Damon firmly gripped Caroline's shoulders, causing her eyes to widen. He brought her in closer, his piercing blue eyes sending intensity towards her own. "Caroline, do you remember how much it hurt when you found out your best friend died? Do you remember how many hours you and Elena spent holding each other while you guys cried your eyes out?"

Caroline had a solemn countenance as she listened to Damon's harsh words. "Yes."

"Here's the deal: I'm going to go rescue your best friend from the other side, so the least you could do is feed and protect that one." Damon pointed his thumb over his shoulder in Katherine's direction.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline questioned. "Don't play games with me, Damon. Not about this-"

"Do you think I would joke about this? I know how much this is tearing Elena up inside. Too many people have died in her life. She's lost _so _much… but she's not losing Bonnie. Not again. Not if I can help it."

"Damon, wait. What are you gonna do? You're not a witch and you're not a miracle worker-"

"Caroline, I may not be able to shoot fire from my fingertips, but I have been known to perform miracles from time to time, so don't _ever_ underestimate my vast knowledge of miracles." He attempted to leave once again, but she still refused to let him pass. "You know, if I _really _wanted to I could bulldoze right over you, me walking around you was just a common courtesy."

"Just tell me one thing: what's your plan?"

Damon gave her a mischievous grin. "Silas."

"Silas?!" Katherine and Caroline screamed.

Damon brought a hand to his lips, whispering as he looked back and forth at the two women. "Guys! Shhh! Inside voices."

"You're teaming up with Silas?" Katherine bit out. "How can you trust that monster? Damon, he's trying to kill me."

"I'm fully aware, Kat, but if we have any chance at beating him, we need the witch and no one will be able to kill anyone because everyone is too busy sobbing over her death."

"What about Qetsiyah? She wants Silas dead more than any of us."

"Qetsiyah can't be trusted. Didn't you see what she did to Stefan? We're bound to piss her off at some point and I would prefer to not see her rip out another Petrova's heart. Do you agree?"

Katherine rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. Caroline sighed, accepting the plan. There was no way in hell that she would ever put her faith in Silas, but this was Bonnie they were talking about.

"Okay, have fun ladies!" Damon took off in a flash, this time using the window behind Katherine.

Katherine locked eyes with Caroline as the room grew silent. "So when's the next party?"

"You're not going to any college parties." Caroline walked past her and began opening several drawers.

"Why not?" Katherine pushed herself off the bed and began hovering over Caroline's shoulder, completely disregarding her personal space. "I thought that parties were like your thing. Oh, and please don't tell me ever since I turned you, you spent the entire time crying about the curse of being a vampire like Elena because I may shoot someone if you do."

Caroline snapped her head up and released a sigh before turning to look Katherine in the eye. "Actually, I haven't."

"Oh, no? Are you saying that you're part of the very exclusive vampire club in Mystic Falls that loves being what you are? You love being a vampire?" Katherine raised her brows.

"So what if I do?"

Katherine beamed as she nodded her head at the blonde approvingly. "My, my, Caroline Forbes. Huh."

"What?"

"I knew there was something about you. The reason why I chose you. It could've been anyone that I handed over to Klaus, yet I chose you. Poor, sweet Caroline. Elena Gilbert's close friend- not her best friend just her friend." Caroline closed her eyes, feeling the all-too-familiar jab in her heart. "The girl who lived in her best friend's shadow her entire life. The girl who no one ever chose. Not guys. Not your friends. Not even your own mother. Tragic, isn't it?"

"Things are different now," Caroline spat. "You don't know me. I've changed-"

"Because you're a vampire, right? _I _changed your life. Do you ever wonder what would've become of you if I hadn't come to town? You never would've become part of Elena's inner circle in her web of lies. You never would've become Stefan's best friend. Damon would've killed you by now. You probably would've drifted away from Bonnie and Elena while they continued to be as close as ever. You never would've met that dog… what was his name again?"

"Tyler-"

"Right, he never would've been your boyfriend, much less your friend. You probably would've ended up with the blonde quarterback, you know, Elena's leftovers-"

"Are you done?" Caroline snapped. "Or are you forgetting that right now, I am the one holding your life in my hands? If you push me enough, I will personally hand you over to Silas. You may have been the reason why I turned into a vampire, but that does not excuse you for trying to ruin my life or Matt's. You didn't care about me. You cared about making Elena's life miserable because she was happy back then and you were alone, and once again she's happy and you're _still_ alone!"

Caroline continued. "I get it; you're miserable because you were forced to become human again and you got dumped! It's a double whammy. Trust me, I know how much it sucks, but don't take it out on me or my friends. You wanna sulk and pour even more salt on your wounds by all means don't let me stand in your way, but don't sleep on my best friend's bed and insult her and try and throw my past in my face when I have even more dirt on you that I could exploit."

Katherine remained silent as she continued to stare into Caroline's blue eyes for a moment. "I knew there was a reason I chose you, Katherine smirked as she sauntered over to Caroline's bed, lying flat on her back, staring up at the white ceiling.

Caroline walked over to her bed and looked down at Katherine. "What are you talking about?"

"You're different. You're nothing like Elena. I mean, obviously being her best friend made you a target, but there was something else about you that called out to me. I could've easily turned the witch, but I chose _you_, Caroline."

"Is that supposed to make me feel special?" She raised a brow at her.

Katherine sat up to face the blonde. "You're not hearing me. You're like _me, _Caroline. You're more like me than sweet, innocent Elena."

"That's not true."

"Oh, no? So when I found you, you weren't that insecure, neurotic girl who acted tough by being a bitch when deep down inside you were lonely? Unloved. You're a survivor, Caroline. All good vampires are."

"I'm not like you, Kat," Caroline reproached. "I wouldn't sacrifice my friends just so that I could save myself. I'm not cruel like you."

Katherine stared at her. "Perhaps. Maybe you do have a sense of loyalty to the people you love, but what about the rest of the world? You know, collateral damage. Are you gonna put your neck on the line for them?" Caroline remained silent. "I know you, Caroline. You don't just wanna survive, do you? You want to live. You want to take every moment and hold onto it and enjoy it without having to feel guilty for being happy. You wanna take advantage of every opportunity and never look back. Deep down you know that you're not this perfect little angel that Elena wants you to be because guess what? You're not Elena and that's a good thing."

"Katherine-"

_Knock. Knock._

Katherine and Caroline whipped their heads around in the direction of the door way, seeing a handsome male with dark skin standing in the open doorway.

Katherine lifted an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you?"

"Jesse!" Caroline scrambled over to the doorway, closing the door half-way. "Listen, now is not exactly a good time."

Jesse looked back and forth between the two girls with a confused expression on his face."

"What's going on in here?"

"Nothing!" Caroline feigned a smile. "Just girl stuff- which means no boys aloud. Talk to you later!" She began pushing him out the door by the shoulder.

"Hold on!" Jesse held onto her forearm, stopping in his tracks. He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Look, about what happened yesterday. I know that I was out of line and I probably upset you so I want to apologize-"

"Already forgotten!" Caroline interrupted. "There's no point in talking about it because it's in the past now. Thanks for dropping by!" She attempted to push him out the door once again, but he planted his feet into the floor once more.

"Before I go, I wanted to invite you guys to the party tonight." He handed her an orange flier decorated in Halloween themes.

Caroline looked down at the flier for a moment and looked back up to Jesse. "Gee. Thanks. Sounds fun but Elena and I-"

"We'll be there!" Katherine announced from her seat on the bed.

Caroline whipped her head around to glare at Katherine.

"See you guys there." He waved before turning on his heel and exiting their dorm.

"So who's the hottie?" Katherine asked innocently.

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't believe you got me into this mess."

"So you're mad because you have to babysit me at a college party or because you have to go see what's-his-face?" Katherine studied Caroline's face, seeing shame written all over her features. "You feel guilty... why?"

"Why do you care?" Caroline snapped.

Katherine shrugged. "Pure boredom. Let me guess: you feel guilty because you just broke up with your last boyfriend and it's too soon for you to even think about being with another guy and you still have lingering feelings for your ex, which means you have no right to be happy and meet new guys."

"What makes you an expert?"

Katherine scoffed. "Please. It's a classic. The whole 'should I or shouldn't I' concept. You wanna know what I think?"

"Not really-"

"Do the thing that makes you happy... and do it while you still have the chance because life is cruel."

Caroline watched Katherine stare off into the distance as if she were reflecting on a tragic memory. "Katherine?"

Katherine slowly turned to meet Caroline's stare. "Take it from me. I let the best thing that has ever happened to me slip away five hundred years ago because I let fear get in the way. He gave me his word that he would save me... and I didn't believe him. _I _abandoned him."

"Elijah," Caroline let the word slip past her lips like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She'd almost forgotten that Elijah had been the person who broke up with Katherine; he was probably the only person in the world who could say that. "He's loved you for over five hundred years, not once ever falling for anyone else... Elena told me."

"You know, for such a good little girl she certainly gossips a lot." Katherine jumped off the bed and leaned her back against the wall, facing Caroline.

"Why did he break up with you?"

"Ask Elena. After her little chat with Elijah, he wanted nothing to do with me. Do you know how close I was at happiness? Elijah was my happy ending and the poster child for the most annoying vampire in history managed to rip it away from me within five minutes."

"Well, you must've done something-"

"I didn't do anything!" Katherine yelled.

Caroline used her vampire speed to grip Katherine's shoulders, holding her in place. "Calm down. I understand how upset you are, but if you miss Elijah so much why did you stay in town? Why didn't you follow him? At least fight for what you have."

"Are you kidding me? Where ever Elijah goes, his siblings will follow soon enough. It doesn't matter what they say. Klaus and Rebekah may be stubborn dick heads, but they'll reunite eventually. They always do. Elijah can't control Klaus, and Rebekah will find a way to kill me if given enough time, not to mention the fact that that town is just crawling with vampires that want my head. Even if I tried, I wouldn't even be able to get within a yard of Elijah."

"I'm sorry, Kat."

"Forget it." Katherine walked around Caroline and began unloading her luggage. "Don't you have a college party to get ready for? I'll just unpack while you take a shower."

Caroline stared at the brunette's back for a long moment before she forced herself to move towards the bathroom.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Also, if you weren't aware, we're nominating Klaroline in the people's choice awards because our ship is perfect and it's a huge slap in the face to JP. Come help us show the world how beautiful our ship is. ;)**


	2. College Visits

**A/N- Hey, guys! OMG! Wow! I'm really glad that this story has gotten such a good response and you guys are as excited as I am for this story! Oh, and apparently it's Klaroline fanfiction weekend on tumblr so of course I had to update at least one of my fics and it happened to be this one. I hope you guys don't mind if I strayed a bit from canon on this little detail. You'll probably recognize it when you read it. Hope you like it :)**

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Katherine dropped her suitcase back on the ground when she heard Caroline turn on the shower. She wandered over to Caroline's side of the room hoping to find some form of entertainment. She examined Caroline's desk and selves –everything was in perfect order –it was spotless. "What a freak…? She's a neat freak too. That's just great." She began rifling through the small stacks of papers and books labeled with boring titles like "Applied Microbiology." _Does Caroline read anything besides science?_ Katherine thought.

She began opening every drawer she could find until she paused when she realized that the drawer in Caroline's nightstand was locked. She yanked on the cool, metal handle once again, but it wouldn't budge. She checked all the other drawers, realizing that they were all open except for the one in her nightstand.

"What are you hiding, Caroline?" she muttered to herself.

Katherine turned her head back to the direction of the bathroom, double checking for Caroline to still be in the shower and scrambled over to the purse on Elena's bed. She dug through it until she found her lock pick. It was her best friend for the entire summer; there was no way in hell she would've survived this long without it.

She quickly returned to the nightstand and inserted the pick in the keyhole, only taking about less than a minute to unlock it. She slowly slid the drawer open and peered inside. Her eyes spotted a medium sized black box and before she even knew it, she had the box in her hands and lifted the top, revealing a stunning diamond bracelet that was almost blinding when she held it in the sunlight. "Holy shit… Caroline's got a sugar daddy." Either that or she stole it, but Caroline would never do something that dishonest, not without good reason.

She placed the box back inside and noticed there was nothing else in the drawer; she slid the drawer out all the way and saw nothing else, but the smooth polished, brown surface of the drawer. Was that it? That couldn't just be it; there had to be some other clue as to who gave Caroline that bracelet. Maybe it's why Caroline had that look of guilt on earlier. She was having a secret love affair with some wealthy bastard.

Katherine paced back and forth in front of the drawer for a moment before she stopped, staring at the drawer for a long minute. She shoved her hand all the way to the back until she found what she was looking for- a piece of paper taped to the top of the drawer.

"It seems that Caroline and I aren't that different after all," Katherine smirked to herself as she removed the paper from the night stand, seeing a rolled up piece of parchment paper in her hand. She furrowed her brows in confusion as she slowly unraveled the paper in her hand, which displayed a breathtaking painting of Caroline with a horse beside her. "Whoa." This wasn't just any old painting that someone was paid to paint, there was something about the portrayal of the blonde that convinced Katherine that this vampire was more than just the artist's subject… she was his muse.

Katherine's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw who signed it. She probably spent over twenty minutes standing there with her mouth hanging open, reading the words over and over again.

_Thank you for your honesty –Klaus._

"What?! Wha… huh? No… it's not the same… what the… motherfucker!" Katherine looked up as she scratched her head, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the man that she had been running from for over half a millennium has a crush on Caroline Forbes. "This isn't real." Katherine briskly paced back and forth, staring down at the painting. "Klaus likes Caroline. The same Caroline who no one ever chose. The same annoying, insecure girl I killed in a hospital bed with a pillow… when the hell did that happen?"

Katherine abruptly stopped in her tracks when she heard Caroline turn off the shower. She scrambled to close all the drawers and stuffed the painting in her back pocket and jumped on the bed, pretending to chip at her nails.

Caroline walked in wearing nothing but a green towel with her wet, blonde hair wrapped in a loose bun. She stopped when she saw Katherine looking a bit too innocent, playing with her nails. "What have you been doing?"

Katherine slowly looked up to see the suspicious look on Caroline's countenance. "Unpacking."

"Your suitcase is still full." Caroline gestured to the messy clothes still inside the suitcase.

"Oh, yeah, about that… I'm taking a break." Katherine slipped off the bed and headed to the bathroom, facing Caroline the entire time to ensure that Caroline didn't get a peek at what she was hiding in her back pocket. "Feel free to organize my things while I take a shower though!" Katherine shut the door and Caroline groaned, unsure of why she was surprised that Katherine would actually try to get out of doing work.

* * *

Caroline firmly clung onto Katherine's arm as they made their way over to the raging frat house, ensuring that she doesn't pull a fast one on her by sneaking off. The place was crawling with drunk college kids, and blaring lights were emitting from the giant house.

"Well, at least there are _some _perks to college," Katherine admitted.

"Well, too bad you can't enjoy any of it because I haven't been invited in," Caroline reminded her.

"Wow. I almost forgot how much that sucked as a vampire… well, don't wait up!" Katherine began walking forward, but Caroline yanked her back.

"Are you forgetting about how I told you a vampire killed –"

"Your dead roommate. I heard you the first time. Do you remember when I told you that I –"

"Could take care of yourself. I know… but you're not always going to have a razor to defend yourself."

Katherine stared at her. "Caroline, if there's one thing that you take away from this experience, it's that sometimes physical strength means nothing if you're blindly punching your opponent in the dark. Sometimes your wits supersedes all the other irrelevant factors."

Caroline paused, scanning Katherine's face for a bit too long.

"What?"

Caroline shook her head. "Nothing… you just reminded me of someone." She began dragging Katherine in the direction of the frat house once again.

"Who?"

"It's no one you know."

"Wait. Who is it?"

* * *

"Caroline, this isn't funny anymore! Just tell me!" Katherine continued to pester Caroline with the same questions over and over again until they reached the front door of the frat house.

"Kat, seriously, this is not the time." Caroline stopped right in front of the door way. She waved her hand in the air when she peered inside the house, recognizing the face she was looking for. "Jesse!"

"Caroline!" He extended his arms in an attempt to give her a hug, but she abruptly squirmed out of his reach before he could touch her, knowing that if he did, he would try to bring her inside the house and she knew very well why that couldn't happen. Caroline scratched her head and feigned a smile, trying to brush it off. Jesse gave her a confused look. "Caroline, look, I know that I crossed a line the other day but if you don't wanna talk to me, you can just tell me. I'm a big boy."

"I'm not mad!" Caroline insisted.

"Then, what was _this_ about?" He mimicked her earlier motions of trying to escape his embrace.

"Oh… yeah… I have a cold. It's pretty contagious. I don't wanna get you sick."

"So is she immune to it?" Jesse pointed to Katherine, who still had her arm locked with Caroline's. "You can touch her and not me?"

Caroline and Katherine looked down at their locked arms and looked back up at Jesse. Caroline opened her mouth as she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"I'm sick too," Katherine stated. "I can't catch anything from her when I'm the one who gave it to her."

"What she said!" Caroline agreed.

Jesse looked back and forth at Katherine and Caroline, watching their unnatural smiles stay planted on their lips. "Yeah. Okay. Whatever, Caroline." He turned around and disappeared into the house.

"Oh, come on, Jesse! Don't be like that!" Caroline sighed.

"Well this has been fun, but I better get some food before they run out-"

"Don't even think about it."

Katherine held her hands up in surrender. "Excuse me for having an empty stomach."

"I'll get you something from the vending machines on the way back to the dorm."

"Um. Do I look like a gum ball machine that you can just feed any old rusty quarter? If I didn't drink animal blood when I was a vampire, what makes you think I would reduce myself to packaged poison as a human?"

"Oh, calm down. You wouldn't believe how many people would fight you for a bag of chips."

"Well, I'm not that desperate yet."

* * *

Katherine bitterly munched on the salty chips that Caroline had given her as they approached their dorm. "I need a drink."

"Okay, just give me a minute to open the door." Caroline shoved the key into the door and let it creak open. She tossed the key onto the table beside the doorway and slowly led Katherine into the pitch black room. She reached her hand over to the wall until she finally felt the light switch and flicked it on.

"Hello, Katherine."

Caroline and Katherine gasped as they were stricken with fear. Their eyes were glued to the figure who was casually sitting at the end of Katherine's bed. He looked like Stefan; sounded like Stefan but the cold look in his eyes told them that this wasn't Stefan.

Caroline instinctively stood in front of Katherine like a lioness protecting her cub. "Silas."

Silas jumped to his feet, causing Katherine and Caroline to flinch. "There's no need to be so jumpy, ladies. I come in peace… well, if you play your cards right, and I'm flattered that you remember me, Caroline. Even with this face that I'm sure you're not used to seeing on my body," he smirked. "I know that the last time we spoke you were probably a little disappointed to find out that the face I was wearing didn't belong to me. No hard feelings, right?"

"You're disgusting!" Caroline yelled.

"Ouch. Be careful; I'm a lot less forgiving when my feelings have been hurt," Silas warned. "But I'd be willing to let that one slide if you handover Katherine."

"Caroline, no!" Katherine screamed.

"Come on, _sweetheart_. What do you say?" Silas's sinister grin grew even wider.

Caroline gritted her teeth as her temper got the best of her and she swung her fist at Silas's giant smirk, hearing the collision echo throughout the room. Caroline's and Katherine's jaws dropped as they watched Silas recoil from the punch he received, blood dripping down his chin. He looked down at the blood on his hand and growled at the girls in fury. Katherine attempted to bolt for the door, but Silas slammed it shut just in the nick of time before she would've been crushed between the door and the door frame.

He leaned his head in so that they had a very uncomfortable proximity. "Neither of you are going anywhere."

Katherine gulped and rejoined Caroline back against the wall. "If you're going to kill me, then just do it already!"

"Um… how about no?" Silas countered.

"What?!" Katherine and Caroline asked in shock.

"What do you mean _no_?" Katherine complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to kill you now?" He offered.

"No, that's okay!" Katherine feigned a smile. "I just don't understand. I thought you wanted me so you could take the cure."

"Oh, I do."

"Oh. Well… why aren't you taking the cure yet?"

"That's a very good question. I'm so glad you asked," Silas answered much too gleefully. "Well, you see, if I were to take the cure right now, my ex, Qetsiyah, who goes by the name Tessa now, you know the crazy bitch who killed my love, Amara- she would be able to kill me before I could destroy the other side and that's a risk I'm not willing to take. Katherine, right now, what I want is to have you under my protection so that Qetsiyah can't use you as leverage against me.

"Hm…" Katherine pretended to be deep in thought. "So if I stick with you, I die and if I stick with Qetsiyah, I die… I'm gonna go with neither."

"Well, then, it's a good thing I'm not giving you a choice." He stepped forward and watched her take a step back behind Caroline. "Caroline, you've managed to gain two strikes in the last five minutes. I advise you to not go for a third. I'm going to give you a choice: you can stand down and hand Katherine to me and I won't have to bother you ever again. Make the wrong choice and I promise that I will have that hybrid's face tormenting you in ways you never even imagined… and by _torment _I don't mean it in the way you were thinking about him in the woods. Do you remember how much you feared him? Feared what he was capable of before everything changed? I can make you live out your greatest fears, Caroline. Do not test me."

Caroline clenched her fists as her mind returned to the memory of the woods. "Burn in hell." She used her vampire speed to break a leg from a nearby table and stab it straight through his heart.

Silas groaned in pain, grasping the wooden object now lodged into his heart. "You stupid bitch!"

Caroline wrapped an arm around Katherine's waist and pushed the window open. She was about to jump, but the sound of a gun unlocking its safety stopped her. Katherine and Caroline slowly looked up to see a terrified Jesse pointing a gun at them. "Jesse…?" Caroline breathed out.

"Such a shame. He had such a bright future ahead of him."

Katherine and Caroline spun around to face a fully healed Silas.

"What are you talking about?" Caroline questioned.

"Oh. Well, this is awkward," Silas chuckled.

"_What_ is awkward?!"

"You're going to kill him."

"I'm what?"

"Three strikes and you're out, blondie. I want you to kill the college kid… now."

Caroline didn't know what was happening but she could feel the hunger rapidly creeping up her throat and her vampire face transforming. She couldn't stop it and she didn't want to. "Jesse, run!"

"No, Jesse. Stay where you are and make sure you put up a good fight. I'd like to see you use those wooden bullets on her," Silas ordered.

Katherine's eyes widened, looking back and forth between Caroline and Jesse. She knew that if Caroline died, she'd have no one to protect her.

"I'm sorry, Jesse." Caroline charged straight for the boy with the gun and the sound of a gunshot when off. Caroline screamed in agony as she fell to the floor, clutching her now bleeding ribs.

"Caroline!" Katherine screamed, feeling powerless because she was no longer a vampire.

"I'm sorry, Caroline!" Jesse sobbed, never letting the gun waver. He closed his eyes before letting the gun go off again and eliciting another cry of pain from the blonde. This time the bullet going into her thigh.

Katherine had had enough and reached for one of Caroline's heavy Biology textbooks behind her and chucked it at Jesse as if it were a Frisbee, knocking him straight off his feet. "Caroline!" Katherine rushed to Caroline, analyzing her injuries. The bullet wounds wouldn't kill her but that won't stop Silas from finishing her off himself. She felt a strong hand push her away from Caroline, causing her to knock her head against the wall. "What the hell?!"

"That wasn't fair," Silas told her. "You were supposed to let Caroline fight Jesse on her own whether she lives or dies. You do not get to intervene unless I say so. Do it again and Caroline won't be given the chance to fight for her life." Silas walked over to Caroline and looked down at her, gently nudging her injured ribs with his foot. "Get up."

"I can't," Caroline managed to say.

"I said _get up_!" He punted her in the ribs as if he were playing football, sending her across the room as she wailed in pain, trying to hold her ribs together.

"Caroline!" Katherine got to her feet but was sent back down to the floor by Silas.

"I've had enough of toying with her. Jesse!" Silas yelled. "Finish off the blonde so I can take the doppelganger with me."

"No! You can't kill her!" Katherine insisted.

"Actually, I can do whatever I want."

"You're wasting your time! Caroline's no threat to you!"

"Yes, but she needs a lesson on what happens when you don't show respect to your elders."

Jesse leisurely walked over to where Caroline was laying, watching her attempt to slowly drag her body away from him but he knew it wouldn't be enough.

"Jesse, don't. You don't wanna do this. I'm your friend, remember?" Caroline tried her best to stay strong.

"No!" Katherine tried to run to Caroline, but Silas wrapped his arms around Katherine's body.

Silas whispered into Katherine's ear. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, I suggest you look elsewhere." Katherine dug the heel of her pumps into Silas's foot, causing him to release a mixture of pain and laughter. "I endured two thousand years starving and dying of boredom. You'll have to do better than that."

Jesse kneeled down beside Caroline and pressed the nozzle of the gun against her heart, staring into her eyes. "I don't want to kill you, but I don't have a choice. I'm sorry."

"Me too." Caroline used all the strength within her to reach for the wooden stake she'd previously thrust into Silas's heart that he'd left on the floor. She closed her eyes as she rammed the wooden object against his neck, severing it from his head. Blood spewed across the room, covering every single person in the room with splattered blood from head to toe. Caroline opened her eyes to see Jesse's cold, dead eyes staring back at her. "Oh my God! Oh my God! I killed Jesse!"

Silas slowly clapped. "I have to say… I'm impressed. You killed that boy even with your injuries and even though he was a friend- I mean, he's no Stefan or Elena but he was innocent. I didn't think you had it in you."

"You're a monster!" Caroline cried.

"And the insults are back," Silas said sarcastically. "Why am I not surprised that you still haven't learned your lesson? Fine." He walked over to her and grabbed her by the throat, choking her against the wall.

Caroline could feel the life slipping out of her. She tried to pry his hands away from her throat but she could feel his psychic abilities draining and suppressing her vampire strength. He was too powerful.

"Caroline!" Katherine began running to the pair but Silas held up a hand, forcing her to stay put.

Silas released a satisfied smile as he watched Caroline slowly begin to fade. "So much effort just for one measly cure. Well, at least I know it's worth it." He abruptly cried out in pain, immediately releasing Caroline from his grip. She dropped to the ground gasping for air and rubbing her now sore neck. Silas looked down at the new wound in his arm- a wooden stake. Everyone in the room looked out the window to see Damon, Matt, and Jeremy standing outside. Silas narrowed his eyes at Jeremy who was holding a crossbow. "Jeremy Gilbert… when will you learn?" He wrapped his hand around the stake as he was about to rip it out, but it wouldn't budge. It was as if the stake was his own bones and it was a part of him. "Why won't this cursed stake come out?!"

"Take another look at the stake," Jeremy ordered.

Silas stared at Jeremy for a moment before looking back down at the stake- the hunters mark. The stake was enchanted. "What have you done?"

"That's a special stake," Jeremy informed him. "You see, because that stake was created just for you, the stake won't ever come out unless a hunter removes it. Oh, and you lose your psychic abilities as long as it stays inside your body."

"A hunter you say?" Silas replied calmly.

"Yeah."

Silas reached into the back of his pocket and pulled out a severed human hand. "Like this?"

"Oh my God!" Matt and Jeremy screamed.

Caroline opened her mouth to scream but her throat caught. She couldn't take her eyes off the human hand that was mere inches away from her.

Katherine's mouth hung open. For once in her life she was at a loss for words.

"Who keeps a human hand in their back pocket, you sick freak?!" Damon asked.

"I was saving it for a rainy day," Silas smirked and used the hand to remove the stake from his arm. "There. All better."

Everyone looked to Jeremy as he reloaded his crossbow with another stake but this time he missed. Silas had a glint in his eye before he had Matt and Damon under his control. "Tell me, hunter. What good is it being immune to my influence if I'm the least of your concerns? Kill the hunter."

Damon lunged for Jeremy but got hit in the shoulder with a stake instead, groaning in pain. Matt attacked Jeremy with his own crossbow but Jeremy dodged it and hit Matt over the head with his crossbow. Jeremy turned back to Silas and jumped into the dorm room; he and Silas slowly circled each other, intensity burning in their eyes. Jeremy pounced on Silas, wrestling him to the ground.

While Jeremy and Silas continued to quarrel with each other, Katherine swung Caroline's arm over her shoulder and began helping her up. "Can you stand?"

"I... I don't know," Caroline groaned.

"Well, you have to. We have to keep moving. If we stay, we'll both die. Come on!" Katherine carried Caroline across the room and flung the door open.

"Going somewhere?"

"Damon," Katherine gasped. He was still under Silas's mind control she was sure of it, which means she couldn't let him stand in her way. His eyes turned red as his fangs elongated and she pulled out the gun she had stolen from Jesse's corpse and shot Damon in the head, watching him fall backwards as he passed out. Katherine stepped over his body and ran as fast as she could while she carried Caroline out of the building.

* * *

Katherine finally approached Caroline's car in the dim parking lot and starting checking Caroline's pockets for the keys. Thank God she decided to park near the school because she'd probably collapse from exhaustion if she didn't. "Caroline, where are your car keys?"

"Table..."

"Table...? As in the coffee table? In the doom room?!"

"Just run. Save yourself," Caroline insisted.

Katherine weighed her options. If she let Caroline die and her suspicions about that painting she found in their room was right... then there were far worse things than death, but if she runs now she might have a slim chance at saving herself and living out her human life. Katherine's thought was interrupted by the sight of the sleek black convertible parked beside Caroline's car. If there was ever an escape route sent from above, this would be it. She pushed Caroline into the passenger seat and slipped in beside her and grabbed the wheel.

Katherine smirked to herself, thankful that the grueling summer she spent on the street wasn't for nothing. One of the tricks she'd picked up was learning how to hot wire a car. She found the two wires she was looking for and turned to Caroline. "Bite these wires." Caroline managed to draw her fangs and cut the wires. She rubbed the two wires together until she heard the engine rev. She put the gear shift in reverse and began backing out of the parking lot.

"Hey!"

Katherine and Caroline turned to see Silas running down the sidewalk, straight for the parking lot. "Shit!" Katherine pressed her foot on the gas, desperately needing to get as far from Silas as she could get. Katherine and Caroline's eyes widened when they saw Silas jump in front of the car and his body smashed against the windshield and tumbled to the ground, looking broken.

Katherine's and Caroline's hearts were violently pounding against their chests and they could feel the sweat sliding down their foreheads. "What the hell just happened?" Caroline screamed.

"We just ran over a two thousand year old immortal being who looks like my ex and it was awesome!" Katherine exclaimed.

Katherine and Caroline looked at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Ouch. It hurts to laugh." Caroline continued to grasp her ribs. "But I have to admit that was pretty awesome and when you got to shoot Damon in the head... I envy you for that."

"Well, I'll make you a deal: if you know anyone who can help us hide from Silas, I'll let you shoot Damon next time."

Caroline sighed. "I wish... trust me, if I knew anyone who was powerful enough to take on a two thousand year old psycho I would-"

Katherine furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at Caroline. "What? You know someone, don't you?"

Caroline gave her a concerned look. "Katherine, do you trust me?"

"No."

Caroline gave her a look that said 'seriously?'

"What?" Katherine shrugged. "You've been my roommate for like five minutes. If I'd trusted everyone I met that easily, I would not be standing before you today."

"Do you at least trust me enough to trust me with your life, knowing that your survival ensures my dead best friend's resurrection? Can you at least trust me on that?"

"Well, I don't really have a choice, do I?" Katherine responded as she continued to drive.

Caroline reached her hand out to the GPS in the car and began pressing buttons until the computerized voice asked for her destination.

"New Orleans, Louisiana."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**And yes I know that I was being extremely subtle with the Klaus mentions, but don't worry! Katherine will be all over that soon enough. Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong and it will probably get really funny really fast. Just a warning! I hoped you guys liked the Katoline badassery in this chapter! Let me know what you think! :)**

**New Orleans...**


	3. Mutual Friends?

**Hey, guys! Okay, first, I have to thank all of you for your wonderful reviews! I still can't believe all you guys said those kind words about my story. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my story and on top of that to alert, favorite, and review! You guys are awesome! Your continued support only makes me even more excited to write the next chapter so just know that anything you do for this story only makes it better!**

**And yes I'm aware that pretty much everyone has the same thought in their mind. Is that cursed shewolf going to be in my story and will it be with child? Yes. But before you decide to go all Hulk on me and say "F*** this!" I'm going to tell you up front that that story line pisses me off beyond no limits. The only reason I want to cover this topic is because I kind of want this story to make sense in canon and I want to provide some "closure" to this atrocity. What I write in this story in regards to that topic are something JP would _never _approve of and I don't want to give anything away but I will make it as quick and painless as possible ;)**

**I know this is probably asking a lot considering what JP has done to post of us, but trust me on this.**

**Oh, and thank you to Delusionalklaroliner and Writedreamlie for being my awesome betas!**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

"What?! No!" Katherine immediately slapped Caroline's hands away from the GPS. "Are you crazy? This is what I get for trusting people!"

"What are you talking about? You _still _don't trust me." Caroline straightened herself and pried Katherine's hand away from the GPS when she saw her attempt to redirect their destination. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What am _I _doing? What are _you _doing?" Katherine fired. "Did you miss all the times I told you about a psychotic hybrid hunting me down for over five centuries? You did know I was talking about Klaus, right? And you do know that Klaus is staying in New Orleans, right? I highly doubt you just wanted to go there for the parties."

"I was aware of all those things, Katherine, which is why I asked you to trust me."

"Caroline, I did not break every sin in the bible just to run straight back into the lion's mouth five centuries later... or in this case- the wolf's mouth."

"Katherine, I promise you: I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. You are my only chance at getting Bonnie back. I would never do anything to jeopardize that."

Katherine slammed her foot on the brakes, causing the car to come to a harsh halt.

"What are you doing?" Caroline questioned.

Katherine turned to the blonde. "First of all, someone once told me that your word means nothing until you keep it... and so far you've done nothing to show me that I can trust you."

"Are you kidding me? I just saved your life! I nearly died trying to get in between you and Silas, you ungrateful-"

"It's not enough!" Katherine interjected. "I saved the Salvatore brothers' lives. I'm the reason that they're still alive today, and yet... what did I get the second I walked back into town last year? Oh, yeah. You tricked me into walking into a trap so that my ex-boyfriends could double team me so they could drive a stake through my heart just to make little Elena comfortable again. One good deed does not make you my savior."

"Wait, what?" Caroline furrowed her brows in confusion. "No. You do not get to make me the bad guy in this situation. You brought that on yourself. You were gonna-"

"Not kill Elena?" Katherine smirked. "That's exactly what I did. I never had any intention of killing Elena."

"You threatened me and Matt. You tormented all of us. You didn't give us a choice."

"Yes, Caroline, I threatened to hurt that boy if you didn't plant ideas into little Elena's head about the ugly reality that was her relationship with Stefan. I'm a home wrecker; therefore, I deserve death, right?"

"You know it's not that simple."

"I do know, Caroline. I know that the reason I ever gave a damn about you and your friends was because _I _didn't have a choice. You can call me selfish or narcissistic, but the truth is that... I don't want to die."

Caroline's hard expression soften at Katherine's words.

Katherine continued. "You can cringe and judge me all you want, but everything I've ever done since 1492 was to ensure my survival. I don't know about you, but when the universe gives you the choice of sacrificing three strangers- people you owe nothing to- in exchange for not only your life, but your freedom along with it, you don't walk away. I would make that choice every single time and never look back."

Caroline sighed. "Okay, fine. We all had our reasons for doing what we did."

"Some of us were more justified than others..." Katherine said innocently.

"Don't push it." Caroline narrowed her eyes at her. "I understand why you're hesitant to go to New Orleans-"

"Hesitant? That implies that I'm actually considering going anywhere near that death trap."

"Katherine, please-"

"No!" Katherine got out of the car and slammed her door shut.

"Where are you going?" Caroline hauled herself out of the car, holding her injuries as she followed Katherine, who was storming down the road the way they came. "If you keep walking in that direction, you're bound to run into Silas."

Katherine stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Caroline. "Well, at least if Silas gets me, I won't have to worry about my organs being stolen and being put into a box as a trophy for finally killing me."

"That's not going to happen." Caroline stopped in place as she winced. "I'll protect you. I swear."

"How are you going to stop a one thousand year old hybrid from doing the thing that he's waited centuries to do? You can barely walk." Katherine crossed her arms over her chest.

"Can you just trust me on this?"

"No. I trusted Elijah to help me get my freedom and look where that got me. I'm standing in an empty road at midnight as a weak mortal with an injured baby vampire, trying to decide whether a two thousand year old witch or a one thousand year old hybrid would give me a better death. If Klaus's own brother couldn't get him to spare me, what makes you think that you can?"

Caroline opened her mouth to speak, but she fell to her knees, wincing again as she felt a wooden bullet scrape against her ribcage.

Katherine tried to avert her eyes as Caroline attempted to suppress her cries. "Oh, quit whining." She walked up to Caroline and forced her to sit up against the car.

"What are you doing?" Caroline breathed through the pain.

"You're a mess and I can't stand hearing you complain about the bullets. Besides, if you're going to protect me, I'm going to have a lot to teach you, and I can't teach you if I can barely have a conversation with you before you collapse." Katherine lifted Caroline's shirt high enough to examine the bullet located in her rib cage. Katherine dug her fingers deep inside Caroline's flesh, causing her to cry out. The entire experience was excruciating; Caroline's body contorted and she dug her nails into the pavement. The scenario was so reminiscent of her experience with the werewolves that kidnapped her; it felt like she was reliving the event all over again. Once Katherine successfully removed the bullet, she repeated the same motions on the bullet in her thigh.

"Done." Katherine shook her now bloodied fingers, tossing the bullets into the grass.

Caroline let out an exasperated breath, watching her wounds rapidly heal. "Thank you." She flashed Katherine a small smile.

Katherine offered Caroline her hand and she took it, allowing Katherine to pull her back to her feet. "Don't thank me. You are my survival guide, so you are going to take me to some tropical island where no psychotic immortal being would even think to look." Katherine turned on her heel and slipped back inside the car.

Caroline smiled a sarcastic smile to herself. "Right. I almost forgot who I was talking to." She walked back over to the car and opened Katherine's door.

Katherine gave her a confused look. "Um. In case you forgot how a car works, this seat is already occupied. You get shotgun." She pointed to the seat next to her.

"Yeah, about that... I thought about it... and I've come to realize that I'm a vampire and you're human-"

"Did you just realize that? Gold star for Caroline." Katherine pretended to clap.

Caroline gritted her teeth. "Which means that I'm in charge. I am running this show. I get to make the decisions and you are way too paranoid for your own good. I get that you hate Klaus and you have every right to, but the only we way that we both get what we want is to team up with him."

"If you think that I'm getting anywhere near that casket hoarding, deranged lunatic, then you're just as dumb as you look," Katherine spat.

"Actually, I don't believe that you'll come with me to New Orleans," Caroline informed her.

"Really?"

"No... well, not willingly." Caroline's eyes dilated as she stared into Katherine's brown eyes. "You're going to sit in shotgun and you're going to go with me to New Orleans without any complaints. Do you understand?" She watched Katherine slowly nod her head before she released her from her compulsion. "Good."

Katherine's foot shot out, the heel of her black pumps taking out Caroline's knee and setting her off balance. "Yeah, right!" She bolted in the opposite direction until Caroline appeared in front of her. "Caroline..."

"Sorry, Kat." Caroline grabbed onto the back of the doppelganger's head and slammed her forehead against the vehicle. She watched Katherine's limp body fall to the ground.

* * *

Katherine groaned as she felt her head throb; she shifted in her position and tried to feel her head, but she couldn't move her hands. Her eyes slowly fluttered open to see her hands bound together with rope. "What the hell?"

"Oh, good. You're awake."

Katherine's eyes shifted over to the driver's seat, where Caroline was steering and humming to the music that was coming from the radio. Katherine looked back and forth between her restraints and the perky blonde sitting next to her. "You bitch! You knock me out and then you tie me up? I'm your prisoner now?"

"You wouldn't have to be my prisoner if you'd just listened to me," Caroline told her.

"What? You mean take your advice on the most memorable way to commit suicide? Caroline, I don't want to go." Katherine pleaded with her eyes.

"Katherine, I'm telling you: Klaus won't hurt you."

"Why not?"

Caroline paused for a moment. "Because I'll ask him not to."

Katherine raised her brows and stared at Caroline for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. "Oh, my God! That was pretty funny! You had me going for a second." Katherine's smile gradually dissipated when she saw the serious look on Caroline's face. "Oh, dear God, you're serious... Caroline, are you insane or are you just stupid?" Caroline rolled her eyes. "This is your big plan to save both of our asses? Wow! Why didn't I think of that? I should've just asked Klaus not to kill me five hundred years ago. That would've saved me a whole lot of trouble, don't you think?"

"You don't even know what you're talking about-"

"You're right, Caroline; I don't. So why don't you enlighten me? Why are you so fixed on this idea that Klaus Mikaelson of all people would do anything for anyone when he doesn't get anything out of it? Why do you trust him?"

"Because... he saved my life... on multiple occasions when he didn't have to. He respects me and I respect him, and he gave Tyler his freedom."

"Who?"

"The werewolf you tried to offer to Klaus," Caroline bit out.

"Mason?"

"His nephew!"

"Oh, right," Katherine remembered. "Wait, what? Klaus gave a traitor their freedom back? Bullshit! Klaus doesn't forgive and he doesn't forget. What did the wolf do to him?"

"It's a long story..."

"Caroline, if you don't tell me, I will sing like Queen Latifah through the entire car ride and my vocal range is not that high. Oh, and if you plan on knocking me out again, just be aware of concussions."

Caroline grimaced at the thought. "He tried to kill Klaus, okay!"

Katherine's jaw dropped. "I kill myself and I spend the next five hundred years of my life on the run, fearing every second of every day will be my last. Some teenager attempts to kill Klaus and he gets to walk free... what the actual fuck? You're joking, right? Klaus doesn't let things go. The only person I've seen him forgive outside of his family is Stefan, and Stefan's been like his brother since the 20's. How? Caroline, tell me how." She grabbed onto Caroline's sleeve.

Caroline hesitated, giving her an innocent look. "I guess... Klaus thought Tyler had better purposes alive than dead."

Katherine scrutinized her. "So he just so happened to spare your boyfriend out of the blue?"

"Honestly, I have no idea what goes on in Klaus's mind."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say to me?" Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"What else would there be to say?"

Katherine shook her head. "And you wonder why I don't trust you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know that you're having a secret love affair with Klaus!"

Caroline slammed on the brakes, causing both of them to fall forward against their seat belts. "What?! Who told you that? Was it Damon?"

"Damon knows?"

"What? No! No one knows anything because it's not true."

"Then, how come your first instinct wasn't denial?"

"I was driving and you caught me off guard. Where did you get this idea?" Caroline continued driving.

"I found the bracelet."

"You what?"

"Oh, yeah, and the painting's in my back pocket."

Caroline spotted the parchment paper peeking out of Katherine's jeans and snatched it into her hand. She unraveled the scroll and was once again in awe as she gazed at the familiar painting. She cleared her throat when she noticed Katherine analyzing her. "You went through my things! How could you?"

"I was bored. It's not like I was searching for your souvenirs from your rendezvous with Klaus."

"Nothing happened between me and Klaus!"

"Then, tell me the truth. Why did Klaus let the werewolf go? And don't give me any bullshit about Klaus having a moral epiphany. I know you had something to do with it, Caroline. Now tell me."

"Fine!" Caroline sighed. "... He's my friend."

Katherine's mouth hung open for what seemed like hours. "Who's your friend?"

"Klaus," she said slowly.

"Stop the car," Katherine demanded.

"What? No, I'm not gonna stop the car."

"Well, you're going to have to kill me then because I refuse to sit in the same car as a traitor."

Caroline cocked her head. "You are overreacting."

"Overreacting? You are friends with a mentally disturbed hybrid. Did you not think that was worth mentioning? When were you planning to tell me? When his stomach acid was in the process of breaking down my torso?"

"I didn't tell you because I knew that _this _would happen. I didn't want you to think that I was helping Klaus murder you or something."

"Well, I do think that and binding my hands together is not helping your case either." Katherine gestured to the restraints around her wrists.

"Listen to me: I need you to save Bonnie. I killed twelve witches to save her life. If you think I'm gonna let Klaus lay a finger on you, then you have no idea who you're dealing with."

Katherine gave her a nod of approval. "Look at you, killer. Twelve people... I'd call that a massacre. Looks like Klaus's 'friendship' is paying off. I wonder what Elena had to say about that."

"She said nothing because at that time she was too busy not giving a damn about anything or anyone."

"Elena doesn't care about anyone but herself. Shocker. Well, now that Elena is a functioning self-righteous bitch again what does she think about this new 'companionship' you have with Klaus?"

Caroline turned her eyes back to the road.

Katherine smirked to herself. "Oh, my God. She doesn't know, does she?"

"Can we just drop it?"

"Fine." Katherine turned her head to the window. "So how was the sex?"

"Katherine!"

"It's a reasonable question."

"I told you that nothing happened."

"Oh, spare me. What kind of an idiot draws a freaking painting for a woman and proceeds to buy her a diamond bracelet if he wasn't getting anything out of it?" Katherine shook her sleeve until Caroline's bracelet slid down her arm.

"You stole my bracelet?!" She grasped Katherine's wrist.

Katherine shrugged. "I haven't worn jewelry all summer because I can't afford it, so excuse me if I wanted to wear something nice."

Caroline ran her hand across her face. "How did I end up getting stuck with you?"

"You're just mad because you don't wanna talk about your lover."

"My _lover_?" Caroline raised her brows. "Klaus is not my lover. We are not lovers!"

"Why because you haven't made love... yet?"

"Yes, that's why- wait... shut up!"

Katherine giggled to herself. "Caroline, don't be naïve. Klaus doesn't have a single genuine bone in his body. If you actually think that he cares for you, you're mistaken. I don't care what he told you when you were rolling around in his sheets; he's a liar and a manipulator."

"Well, that must mean he hasn't told me any lies because I have never gone anywhere near his sheets."

"Look, I don't care if you prefer his couch or his Persian rug. I get it. He's hot and he's fascinating, and you're not the only girl to ever fall for his charms. Klaus says and does a lot of things but the one thing he can't do is fall in love. It's just not in his nature."

"You know, a lot of people could say the same about you. I never said that I wanted Klaus to fall madly in love with me. He's my friend and for now that's enough."

"For now? Like you might change your mind later?"

"As in for now, unless he does something to screw it up like change his mind and kill Tyler. Despite what you think, I know exactly who Klaus is and what he's capable of. Trust me, I've had an ongoing war with myself about this for the past few months."

"So you admit that you've thought about this? You and Klaus?"

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because right now you are all I have and I don't need Klaus's dick clouding your judgment."

"OH, MY GOD!" Caroline screeched as she slammed her foot so hard against the breaks she was surprised her foot hadn't pierced the vehicle. "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _you_? You're sleeping with a guy who has a fetish for coffins. Who does that?" Katherine accused.

Caroline groaned as she stepped on the gas again. "Why do I even bother? Okay, since you refuse to listen to anything I say. Yes, Katherine, I 'slept' with Klaus and it will never happen again."

"I knew it!" Katherine rejoiced.

Caroline shook her head at Katherine. "Are you happy now?"

"No, I'm furious!"

"Seriously?! What more do you want from me?"

"Klaus is dangerous, don't you get that?" Katherine pressed.

"Of course, I'm aware. Don't you think it's a struggle to know that every day?"

"Yet, you feel safe with him?"

Caroline stared at Katherine for a moment. "I don't know."

"Caroline, listen to me: Klaus can't be trusted. You'll only end up getting hurt. My survival instincts are never wrong and they are screaming at me to not get anywhere near New Orleans."

"Katherine, if Klaus wanted you dead so badly why did he just sit around Mystic Falls and hang out at the Grill when he could've spent that time hunting you down? From what I've seen, you haven't really been his main priority lately."

"Oh, please. Klaus is a master manipulator; it's all just a mind game. And by walking into New Orleans I'm basically delivering myself to him and playing right into his hands."

Caroline raised both her brows. "Wow… and I thought Klaus was paranoid."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "First rule of survival: always know who or what you're running from whether it's starvation or a psychotic hybrid and never underestimate them. If you're going to protect me, you have to be smart, Caroline and right now you're not thinking with your brain."

Caroline threw her head back in frustration. "Do you think I want to drive all the way over to New Orleans with _you_? If you think I have a choice in this, I don't. Klaus is the only person that I can turn to. He's done some terrible things to my friends and me, but he was there for me when it counted."

"He conveniently swooped in and saved the day? That doesn't sound like it was planned at all," Katherine stated.

"You are impossible!"

"No, I'm just telling you the truth. Can't you see that Klaus was only being nice to you because he wanted something from you…? And you gave it to him good," Katherine snickered. Caroline shot her the dirtiest look she could muster. "Don't feel bad. You're still young and naïve and still believe that the world is filled with lollipops and unicorns. That's why I'm here: so I can teach you how to never get fooled like that again."

"You mean like teach me to be afraid of my own shadow. Gee. I can't wait," Caroline spat.

"It's better than getting used by a man who couldn't give two shits about you. You'll thank me for this later."

"And you'll thank _me _later after we kill Silas and you continue running from Klaus."

"I don't care what you do to me, I'm not letting you take me to Klaus."

"Oh, yes you are," Caroline said in a monotone voice. "As long as I can use you to resurrect Bonnie, you go where I go and I'm gonna go see Klaus."

Katherine gritted her teeth as she shot daggers through her eyes at the blonde.

Caroline looked up ahead on the road and spotted a motel sitting on the corner of the street. "We should probably call it a night. Besides, I don't think I could stand hearing another word about why you don't want to go to New Orleans."

Katherine flashed her a sardonic smile. "Klaus."

* * *

Caroline crawled into bed after brushing her teeth. She picked up her phone from the nightstand beside her bed. She could see Katherine out of the corner of her eye staring at her from her own bed across the room. She noticed how low the battery on her phone was, so she knew that she needed to make this a fast call. She pressed the phone to her ear after she found Klaus in her contacts. Her phone beeped irritatingly and she realized why: no service. "Seriously?"

"Well, we are in Tennessee. It's a lot more countryside and a lot less big city lights which means a lot less telephone lines," Katherine smirked.

"I don't know why you think this is funny. If Klaus sees you before I can tell him not to kill you, your chances of living are greatly reduced."

"Well, that's not really my problem since I'm not getting anywhere near him."

Caroline tugged on her lip with her teeth as she thought for a moment. "It's okay! When we get there, I'll just make sure that Klaus is in a good mood before he sees you. Hopefully, I can distract him long enough so that he can quell the urge to kill you while I explain why he doesn't want to hurt you."

"Distract him? By... flirting with him?"

Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Somehow I find it hard to believe that Klaus would forget about a five hundred year old vendetta if some cute girl batted her eyelashes at him. Klaus is conceited, but not enough to let an opportunity pass by for attention from some girl he screwed."

Caroline pretended to pound her skull against her bed frame. "What I wouldn't give for a bottle of Tylenol right now."

"Why do you need Tylenol? You're a vampire," Katherine reminded her.

"It's not for me! It would be preferable if you took the whole bottle," Caroline retorted.

"If you cut these ropes, there's a chance that I might get slightly more tolerable." Katherine held her bound wrists up. Caroline raised a brow at her suspiciously. "I promise I won't try to stake you in your sleep," Katherine smirked.

"How about you tell me about Elijah… and then we'll talk," Caroline countered.

"There's nothing to say about Elijah. Now cut these ropes!"

"You've been so concerned about what Klaus would do if he saw you, but you've barely said anything about his brother. Shouldn't you be happy that you're gonna see him again?"

"Happy for what? Elijah dumped me for Klaus! If it hadn't been for Klaus, Elijah would be here with me right now. I would still be a vampire, and me and Elijah would've built a life away from Elena, away from Klaus, and that would've been my happy ending. Elijah was it for me and Klaus stole him right from under my nose."

Caroline offered her a small smile. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one who had their boyfriend stolen by Klaus."

Katherine was confused for a moment before she realized what Caroline was talking about. "I thought you said that he let him go."

"He did. The only problem is that that was over three months ago. I haven't seen Tyler in person since. He was supposed to go to college with me and Elena, but he never came. He just gave me a bunch of lame excuses about helping a wolf pack."

"You know, over the centuries I've seen and done a lot of things. I've seen countless people fall in love- most of the time it was with me- but I know for a fact none of those men would put a pack of smelly wolves over me. I know what love is... and that's not it."

Caroline crossed her arms. "Well, you don't know me and Tyler."

"Right," Katherine scoffed. "You're not the typical high school sweethearts who break up after fifth period. You're that one couple who go to college together and get married and have ten kids, right? Oh, wait- he didn't even make it to the first day of school and you can't reproduce and that whole 'til death do us part' doesn't apply anymore, does it?"

"No relationship is perfect, okay? I don't have time for this. I have to make a plan for how to get to New Orleans in the least amount of time." Caroline slid off her bed and walked over to a table in the corner of the room. She grabbed the map and the pencil that was sitting on top and began drawing their route.

Katherine came up behind her and peeked over her shoulder.

Caroline pointed to the map. "We can cut through Arkansas and be in New Orleans before sundown. It's a nine hour drive, so lay off the water because I don't want to stop for a bathroom break every ten minutes."

"I'll take it under consideration." Katherine flashed her a sweet smile. "Well, I guess it's time for bed which means…" Katherine held her bound hands to Caroline expectantly.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot." Caroline grabbed onto Katherine's arm and pushed her onto the bed.

"Hey!" Katherine complained. "What the hell are you doing?"

Caroline grabbed the thin blanket from the opposite bed and tied Katherine's wrists to the bed frame. "Rule number two of survival: trust no one."

Katherine's jaw dropped, unable to believe that this baby vampire was using her own logic against her. "I hate you."

"Well, it's a good thing I didn't decide to go on this road trip to make friends. Don't be mad because you can't handle what you dish out."

"You said you'd cut these ropes if we talked about Elijah-"

"Correction, I said we'd _talk_- and I don't wanna cut your hands free. End of discussion."

"You know what? You and Klaus deserve each other! You're so alike I can't even believe that I didn't realize it before!"

Caroline hopped on the bed and nudged Katherine to the other side to make room for herself. She pulled the covers over both of them. "Can you just shut up and go to sleep already? I tied you to the bed frame; I didn't throw you into a dungeon. Relax."

Katherine slammed her head against her pillow. "This isn't over."

Caroline sighed as she stared at the ceiling for what seemed like forever, replaying the conversation she had with Katherine, unsure of what to make of it.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, guys! Looks like these are getting pretty intense between Katoline and I don't just mean because they're sharing a bed ;) Lol. Jk. I guess they're not exactly meeting eye to eye when it comes to Klaus and it looks like he'll have a hell of a surprise when you know who shows up on his door with another person. Hm... let me know your thoughts in a review! :)**


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